The Ordinary Boys’ Preston: ‘I used to be an insufferable arsehole’

The Ordinary Boys‘ Preston has admitted that he “used to be an insufferable arsehole”.

The singer, who is back playing with his band again after their split in 2008, told The Sun that he was aware he used to be “a real dickhead” but insists he has now changed his ways.

He said:

It’s not a coincidence that most frontmen in bands are insufferable arseholes. I was an insufferable arsehole. I used to go on stage and swear and neck bottles of wine. I was a real dickhead.

However, Preston went on to claim that he had abandoned his old rock’n’roll lifestyle, and had been forced to mature into “a grown up man with responsibilities” – including owning a pet cat.

“Before I used to wear the same jeans for the whole tour and throw some things in a duffle bag,” he said. “Now I have a cat to think about. I have to arrange a cat-sitter and make the house tidy for her.”

Preston parted ways with The Ordinary Boys to launch a solo career in 2008, but failed to release his debut album after his first single, ‘Dressed To Kill’, failed to trouble the Official Singles Chart.

In 2006 he appeared on the reality TV show Celebrity Big Brother and married fellow contestant Chantelle Houghton shortly afterwards. The couple divorced in 2007 – the same year that he notoriously stormed off the set of the BBC’s TV pop quiz Never Mind The Buzzcocks, after host Simon Amstell mocked Houghton and her then recently-published autobiography.